Monday, October 16, 2006

Today's Housing Bubble News...

...Brought to you by faithful reader: Trailer Trash

Enough of this gloom and doom, already! Here are a few gags to brighten things up:David Lereah, Chief Economist for the National Ass. of Realtors, said the housing market is showing signs of life and that sales may be leveling out.

"Many potential home buyers who have been taking a wait-and-see attitude or taking their time and being methodical in the search process are being enticed by lower home prices," he said."

"Given a positive economic backdrop of lower interest rates and job creation, we expect sales activity to pick up early next year."

"Walter Molony, David Lereah's sidekick, went on to say:"Existing-home sales are forecast to be fairly stable in the fourth quarter and sales for all of 2006 are expected to drop 8.9 percent to 6.45 million – still the third strongest year after consecutive records in 2004 and 2005. New-home sales are forecast to fall 17.3 percent this year to 1.06 million, the fourth highest year on record. Housing starts should be down 10.9 percent to 1.84 million in 2006."

"With a recent correction in the market, the national median existing-home price is likely to rise 1.6 percent to $223,000 for all of 2006; it’s anticipated prices will remain slightly below year-ago levels before gaining positive traction in the first quarter of 2007. The median new-home price is projected to decline 0.2 percent to $240,500 – largely the result of builder price cuts to move unsold inventory."

The rest of the NAR's October laugh festival can be found here: NAR Lies

But wait, there's more!For those who may have missed them, here are some classic Lereah lies from September:

"Households and investors are now sitting comfortably and patiently on the sidelines waiting to get back into the real estate game, but only when property prices come down to more suitable levels.""The good news is that prices are beginning to soften."

"With price reductions come gains in home sales. If prices continue to fall, the decline in sales might have bottomed out in July."

"Most homeowners today have enjoyed substantial equity gains on their properties during the real estate boom years. Cutting prices by 5 or 10 percent will not wipe out their home equity gains."

((Unless the homeowner has one of the many interest only loans or a negative amortization loans which have been so popular lately. If this is the case they probably didn't have any equity to begin with, so they are upside down in their houses.)

"The sooner home prices drop, the sooner we can stop the bleeding. Expect home prices to fall for most of the remainder of this year. Although it may seem to go against your better judgment, this is a good thing for the long-term health of housing."

(Crashing home prices are a good thing? Does the NAR have Martha Stewart ghostwriting this crap?) The rest of the lies can be found here: Laughable Lereah Lies